Numbness | I search in the snow in vain

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by Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827)

Translation © by Arthur Rishi

Erstarrung

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: AFR CAT CHI DUT ENG ENG FIN FRE FRI HEB IRI ITA KOR LIT SPA

Ich such' im Schnee vergebens
Nach ihrer Tritte Spur,
Hier, wo wir oft gewandelt
Selbander durch die Flur.

Ich will den Boden küssen,
Durchdringen Eis und Schnee
Mit meinen heißen Thränen,
Bis ich die Erde seh'.

Wo find' ich eine Blüthe,
Wo find' ich grünes Gras?
Die Blumen sind erstorben,
Der Rasen sieht so blaß.

Soll denn kein Angedenken
Ich nehmen mit von hier?
Wenn meine Schmerzen schweigen,
Wer sagt mir dann von ihr?

Mein Herz ist wie erfroren,
Kalt starrt ihr Bild darin:
Schmilzt je das Herz mir wieder,
Fließt auch das Bild dahin.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• F. Schubert

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Confirmed with Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten. Herausgegeben von Wilhelm Müller. Zweites Bändchen. Deßau 1824. Bei Christian Georg Ackermann, pages 81-82; and with Urania. Taschenbuch auf das Jahr 1823. Neue Folge, fünfter Jahrgang. Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus. 1823, page 213.

First published in Urania (see above) as no. 4 of Wanderlieder von Wilhelm Müller. Die Winterreise. In 12 Liedern.

Text Authorship:

by Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827), "Erstarrung", written 1821-22, appears in Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten 2, in Die Winterreise, no. 4, first published 1823 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

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Research team for this page: Ofer Sheinberg , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 99

Numbness

NOTE: the footnotes have been removed from this text; return to general view

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

I search in the snow in vain
For a trace of her footsteps
When she, on my arm,
Wandered about the green field.

I want to kiss the ground,
Piercing the ice and snow
With my hot tears,
Until I see the earth below.

Where will I find a blossom?
Where will I find green grass?
The flowers are dead,
The turf is so pale.

Is there then no souvenir
To carry with me from here?
When my pain is stilled,
What will speak to me of her?

My heart is as if frozen,
Her image is cold within,
If my heart should one day thaw,
So too would her image melt away!

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Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Arthur Rishi, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Wilhelm Müller (1794 - 1827), "Erstarrung", written 1821-22, appears in Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten 2, in Die Winterreise, no. 4, first published 1823
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general view

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 115